


Golden Boy

by intheKnickoftime



Category: Purple Hyacinth (Webcomic)
Genre: Again, F/M, I would die for kywi, Meaningful Conversation, There Is A Hug, These two need to TALK IT OUT, William gets a new nickname, mention of offscreen death, mild angst?, no editing we die like men, seriously. please, slight plot, them, them I love them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-08
Updated: 2020-05-08
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:40:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24066721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/intheKnickoftime/pseuds/intheKnickoftime
Summary: “Never did I think the day would come when I’d admit to being nostalgic for you harassing me, Ladell.”In which Kym and Will discuss their next move, and some more besides.
Relationships: Kym Ladell & William Hawkes, Kym Ladell/William Hawkes
Comments: 8
Kudos: 73





	Golden Boy

**Author's Note:**

> you're welcome for the quite-possibly-a-mess that is this fic. Which I wrote in one sitting. When I had other things to be doing instead. I was just seized by the kywi, man. that's all.

“Do you think we should discuss- ah-” Will hesitated, glancing over at Kym, who was taking up the other half of their bench. It was a foggy day, and everything was cloaked in the kind of cold damp that made you want to stay warm and dry indoors.

Which meant that not many people were outside on the streets- especially not on the sidewalks beside the canal, the water of which was nearly rendered invisible by the heavy mist. A perfect (albeit dreary) spot to meet for a conversation without fear of being overheard.

“Ugh, let’s not,” Sergeant Ladell groaned. Despite having met here with a clear purpose in mind, it was clear that neither of them was exceptionally enthusiastic about it.

“I don’t want to dwell on the possibility of our coworkers being traitors any longer than I have to,” she said, looking uncharacteristically somber. Will was forcibly reminded of another day when she’d worn that expression- of a music box, and the discovery of a murder within the heart of their precinct. 

In the aftermath of that morning, she had looked this way too- serious and downcast, lost in thoughts that she didn’t seem inclined to share.

_I’m just fulfilling my duty as Lieutenant, to make sure my subordinates are alright._

_I used to see cops like some kind of superheroes._

To think that they had stumbled upon Harvey’s body because of a spilled coffee, of all things.

Will shook his head briefly to clear his thoughts.

“Neither do I,” he admitted. “But the sooner we get serious about looking into it, the sooner we can prove that nobody in our unit is a traitor- and get Hermann off our backs.” The words rang with false optimism and he knew it- even as they left his mouth, there was a twinge of doubt in the back of his mind.

What if he was wrong? What if there was a traitor in their midst- a member of the Phantom Scythe or Lune, which in their captain’s eyes seemed to be roughly equivalent (despite the fact that one of those parties had proved to be decidedly more helpful than the other). Will couldn’t help frowning as he recalled Hermann’s anger regarding the situation- and his dismissal of Lauren. The man really did hold grudges.

“My point is,” he said, “That it’s been nearly a week since Hermann charged us with this, and as of now we haven’t done much to act on it. We should at least try to seem like we’re making an effort.” When Kym remained silent, he reached out and gently nudged her with his elbow.

“Hey- Ladell,” he said, slightly louder than before, eyebrows furrowing as he glanced at her. “Are you following me? Do you have any ideas? Thoughts?”

Kym heaved a sigh, meeting his concerned look with a tired sideways expression of her own. There was something like a flash there, like she had come to a decision, and then she was scooting across the gap between them on the bench, leaning against Will’s side and propping her head on his shoulder.

Will stiffened. He was no stranger to touch from Kym- he had been clapped on the shoulder (and smacked in the face, and also decked onto their office floor) by her too many times to count. But this was different, and closer, and the beading mist was cold but it was nothing to the flare of comfortable warmth that spread through him at her sudden closeness, making even his cold-numbed fingertips feel pleasantly warm again.

Why did this feel so strange? What was she- _why_ -

“I hate this,” Kym muttered against his shoulder, bringing one hand up to shield her face from the mist, which was heavy enough now that it had started to gather on things, soaking them through as surely as though it had been raining.

“What-” Will cleared his throat, “-what do you hate? The weather? The case-”

“All of it!” Kym burst out, her voice cracking slightly. “I hate this stupid mist- next time, let’s pick a drier meeting spot. I hate that we’re being asked to spy on our coworkers to soothe Hermann’s bruised ego. And I especially hate feeling so helpless in the face of all this- just when it felt like we were starting to gain ground thanks to Lune’s leads, the Purple Hyacinth swept in and undid all that work like it was nothing- with, bonus, extra casualties.”

“And…” she paused, shifting against him. “I hate that I’ve been so tense with you lately- that we’ve only started talking again when this job forced us to.”

“What?” Will asked, suddenly feeling far too warm and far too tongue-tied to follow her words.

“I guess… in the midst of all this, messing with you was something I did to try and cope with all of it,” Kym said. “It’s always been fun to bother you, Lieutenant. I guess I didn’t anticipate missing it so much, after-” she breaks off, and Will doesn’t need her to elaborate. He knows what she’s thinking of.

_Fine, then._

_Awesome._

_Wonderful._

_Perfect._

He let out a sigh of his own and, before he could talk himself out of it, reached out to pull one of his arms around Kym’s shoulders, squeezing gently. He half expected her to hit him or yell at him, but all she did was give a sighing sort of exhale, an almost defeated kind of sound that he decided he really didn’t like hearing from her.

“I- yeah, I’ve missed it too, actually,” he admitted. “Never did I think the day would come when I’d admit to being nostalgic for you harassing me, Ladell.”

She gave a small laugh at that.

“Well if you miss it so much, I can always-” she sat up straighter and gave him a jokingly malicious grin.

“Ah! I didn’t mean-” Will pulled his free hand up to shield his face.

“Fine,” Kym said, smirking. “You’re safe for now, Golden Boy.”

“Golden Boy?” He asked, puzzled. “That’s a new one.”

“I just meant- with the hair, and-” Kym sputtered, looking indignant. “You just- Will, you’re- you’re just _good_ , alright? You’re a good person, and even if I like to annoy the hell out of you that doesn’t mean I don’t _trust_ you, okay? Is what I was… trying to say,” she trailed off, slumping back against his shoulder.

Will felt a sudden, irrepressible urge to grin. He didn’t bother trying to stop himself.

“For what it’s worth,” he said, brushing a lock of hair away from her face on a (possibly stupid) impulse. “I… I trust you too, Ladell. I know we’re going to figure this out- either by uncovering the truth or proving Hermann wrong.”

“Let’s hope for the latter,” Kym said, punching him in the shoulder.

“...ouch. I thought you said I was safe for now.”

“I said nothing about time limits, Golden Boy. Your brief period of refuge is now spent.”

“I hate you.”

“No,” Kym said, leaning back into his embrace. “You don’t.”

**Author's Note:**

> th-them,,, I love them so much bro. I weep over them daily. Hope I did these two nerds justice <3
> 
> This is set vaguely between the end of season 1 and the beginning of season 2, if you couldn't tell.
> 
> please I just want them,, to talk it out,, and maybe hug it out a little bit too. agh
> 
> kudos and comments fuel me like our collective tears fuel Eph and Soph.


End file.
